Trans fats, or trans-fatty acids, are produced when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil. Trans-fatty acids are used in many foods because it helps prevent them from spoiling and it gives them a less greasy texture. However, eating these fats regularly is also known to increase your risk of health problems.
Food Sources
Trans-fatty acids are commonly used in stick margarines, boxed cookies and crackers, pie crusts, canned biscuits, microwavable popcorn and doughnuts. Fast foods, such as fried chicken, french fries and biscuits are frequently made with trans-fatty acids. You will also find some trans-fatty acids in meat and dairy products, such as beef and butterfat, but these fats may not pose the same health dangers as do trans-fatty acids that have been industrially created, according to the American Heart Association.
Health Risks
The main concern about trans-fatty acids is that they can damage your cholesterol levels. Eating too many trans-fatty acids can lead to an increase in your low-density lipoprotein cholesterol -- "bad" cholesterol -- which can build up on your arteries and reduce blood flow. If blood flow to your heart is restricted, you may develop chest pain and other heart disease symptoms. If the plaque that forms on your arteries ruptures or tears, you may develop a blood clot that leads to a heart attack or a stroke. Trans-fatty acids cause double damage by reducing your high-density lipoprotein cholesterol -- the "good" cholesterol -- which is responsible for picking up excess cholesterol in your blood and helping clear it from your body. Trans-fatty acids have also been linked to obesity and other diabetes risk factors in animal studies, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.
Daily Intake
Trans-fatty acids should make up no more than about 1 percent of your total calories. So, if you're eating a standard 2,000 calories per day, you should get no more than 20 calories from trans-fatty acids, advises the American Heart Association. But when considering some of the foods you eat can naturally contain some trans-fatty acids, you may have little to no wiggle room in your diet for junk food trans-fatty acids.
Avoiding Trans Fats
Replace most commercially prepared baked snacks with fresh foods. Frozen grapes, carrot sticks, fresh celery dipped in all-natural peanut butter and whole-wheat pita bread and red bell pepper slices with hummus make healthier snack choices. If you're buying a packaged snack from the grocery store, find a product that doesn't include "partially hydrogenated oil" anywhere on the list of ingredients. If you can't avoid a product with partially hydrogenated oil on its label, at least make sure it lists the oil far down on the ingredient list.
Considerations
While cutting down on trans fat is a good way to have a healthier diet, you should also be cutting down on saturated fat to reduce your risk of heart disease. In a diet that should allow 25 to 35 percent of calories from fat, saturated fat should be no more than 7 to 10 percent of your total calories, advises the American Heart Association. Cut back on fat from meat, whole-fat dairy and products that contain tropical oils, such as coconut and palm kernel oil. For optimal health, emphasize monounsaturated fat from sources such as nuts, olive oil and oily fish.
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